AUNT TILLY SAYS: Dear friend
Weazel -- I think you make me sick. Bon
appetit!
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DEAR AUNT TILLY: Here is something I just don’t understand. While driving to Tilbury Town recently for a much
needed vacation, I had to pass through two
toll booths. Going to Tilbury I had to stop
to pay two tolls, but on the way home I
only had to pay one. Same highway, same
route. Is it that Tilbury has a deal with the
highway department to get us out of there
quicker? Anyways, it was a restful vaca-

tion. Thanks, Pat
AUNT TILLY SAYS: Gee, Pat, you
should have looked me up while you were
in town. Did you get a chance to visit our
famous Duck Tape and Spruce Gum museum? Our definitive collection of classical Duck Tape includes a special section
on the handmade variety. Our own Hazel
Jenkins has specialized in home made
Rainbow DT for thirty years. She provided the special tape used to hold the nose
onto the Statue of Liberty.
But I digress. Back to your question.
How perceptive of you to notice the
toll booth thing. Did you notice that each
of the two going-to-Tilbury tolls were
exactly half as much as the single goinghome-from-Tilbury tolls? So what’s your
beef, Pat?
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DEAR AUNT TILLY: I’ve hunted
deer in the Maine woods for thirty years
and I hold the State record for the number
of times I’ve been shot at, mostly while
hunting. But that’s not my problem. It’s
those busybody Maine Fish and Game
Wardens. You see, I have this thing about
not upsetting wildlife in its natural habitat. When hunting, I’m very conscientious
about two things. First I hope it’s open
season on whatever I’m hunting and secondly, I always move slowly being very
careful about spooking rabbits, foxes, deer
and such. In order not to disturb deer as

I go, I wear a set of antlers and real buckskin, fur and all. This bothers the game
wardens in my area and they’re always on
my case about it. They want me to lose
the antlers and start wearing blaze orange.
But, Aunt Tilly, I’m running a business
here and I’ll dress however I need to, so
there! I trust your wisdom, and will take
your advice whatever it is. - Furandfin,
East Sidney
AUNT TILLY SAYS: Dear, dear
Furry -- In this life we have to learn to go
with the punches - and, in your case, the
gunshots. I suggest you add a bullet-proof
vest to your hunting togs, otherwise I’m
with you. And by the way, what the aitch
kind of a business are you running in the
Maine woods that requires stalking deer in
antlers and buckskin?
Keep on duckin’
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******
SPECIAL NOTICE: Uncle Toot Finny, Tilbury Town municipal attorney and
legal advisor to Aunt Tilly says to remind
everybody that this column is under full
copyright protection and that all submissions to this column become the property
of a guy named Robert Demers who owns
this literary masterpiece lock, stock and
barrel.

late the senses of hearing, smell, touch,
and perhaps even taste.
“Come out and experience nature’s
finest with us!” Harris urged.
“If you’ve ever wondered why the
leaves change color, what triggers leaf
drop, how to identify trees, this is a great
opportunity to get out in the woods with
a park ranger and a district forester to get
immersed in Maine’s most colorful season,” Gary Best, BPL interpretive specialist, said.
The four hikes, which are free with
park admission, will take place:
·
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday, Sept.
27, Aroostook State Park, Presque Isle;
·
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4,
Grafton Notch State Park
·
2 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct.
11, Bradbury Mountain State Park
·
1 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct.
11, Camden Hills State Park, Camden.
A special thanks goes to Poland
Spring, which will provide water for all
hikers and to Project Learning Tree, which
has helped develop the hike program, Best

said.
There has been a growing interest
among people to get outdoors and enjoy
fall in Maine, the park interpretive specialist said. The hike program is a unique
opportunity for park visitors not only to
hike in a beautiful area, but also to understand what is going on in nature during this season with explanations from the
park ranger and district forester, he said.
The hike program begins up north
at Aroostook State Park, which also has
the distinction of being Maine’s first state
park, and follows the fall colors as they
travel down state, Best said.
The hikes are being offered under the
“Take A Hike!” promotion, part of Gov.
John E. Baldacci’s “Take It Outside!” initiative to encourage Maine kids and families to enjoy the outdoors for both good
health and recreation. In June, the “Take
A Hike!” initiative sponsored numerous
hikes around the state for National Trails
Day, with about 250 people taking part.
“This is a continuation of that program,”
Best said.

The BPL official said he expected a
good turn-out for the hikes, pointing out
that in general, Maine’s state parks have
experienced a boost in attendance with the
recent good weather.
“The park attendance is big, people
already are getting out,” he said. “This is
an added value to their experience, and we
hope lots of people will take advantage of
this opportunity.”
For more information about the guided fall foliage hikes, contact Gary Best,
BPL interpretive specialist, at (207) 2875976.
Or go to: http://take-it-outside.com/
hike.shtml
For information on fall foliage in
Maine, go to: http://www.mainefoliage.
com
For information on Maine trees, go
to: http://www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/pubs/
ftm/ftm_centennial.html

Maine Parks Set Guided Foliage Hikes

Jeanne Curran
Contributing Writer
AUGUSTA, Maine – Warm sunny
days, fresh air, colorful leaves – it must be
fall in Maine, and a perfect opportunity to
“Take A Hike” at a Maine state park.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and
Lands (BPL), under the Maine Department of Conservation, has joined with the
Maine Forest Service (MFS) and Project
Learning Tree to offer four guided foliage
hikes at four different state parks later this
month and in October.
The fall hikes, the first program of
its kind offered by the state parks, are all
easy, family-friendly, guided tours of four
of the most beautiful fall-foliage areas in
the state, according to park officials. Each
tour will be led by a BPL park ranger and
a MFS district forester.
“Seeing the fall foliage from your car
is a fun thing to do, but experiencing the
fall colors as you hike through one of our
state parks is even better,” Will Harris,
BPL director, said. “Besides using your
sense of sight, these fall hikes will stimu-

Volume 3 Issue10 October 2009

I’m taking a month off to explore
some old granite quarries in the area. In
the meantime Tilly Totman, Tilbury’s other renown columnist, has kindly agreed to
fill in with her nationally syndicated advice column. Thank you Aunt Tilly! /bob
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DEAR AUNT TILLY: I’m twentyfive years old and can’t seem to get a date
outside of Round Pond. The local girls are
ok but I feel a need to expand my social
horizons by dating girls from exotic places like Chelsea and Pittston. I’m fairly
good looking according to my mother, but
whenever I travel, those out of town girls
don’t seem to want to touch me with a ten
foot pole. You can’t do much socializing
at ten feet. I work long hours on the docks
cutting bait for lobstermen or crewing on
a shrimper, so when I get time off I have
to get right to the social stuff before it’s
time to fish or cut bait again. I’m really
frustrated, Aunt Tilly. This whole situation stinks! - Bobbo Beemer, Round Pond
AUNT TILLY SAYS: Bingo, Bobbo
boy -- Your last sentence says it all. Girls
who live inland away from fishing villages have not developed the strength of
character required to date guys who don’t

have time to take a shower or change
their clothes between fishing and Fasching (Sorry, Bobbo, you’ll have to look that
one up - I’m running out of space). My advice: find time to sweeten up or take up a
social activity which doesn’t involve girls
- or anyone else for that matter.
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DEAR AUNT TILLY: I like to hunt
squirrels, porcupine, field mice, woodchuck and other roadkill like that. I also
like to fish for eels, skulpin, mud puppies
and jelly fish. I’m something of a gourmet cook when it somes to preparing these
items for eating but my friends are always
too busy to join me at dinner. What do
you think, miss know-it-all? - Your friend,
Weazel from Sidney